Round Up 1st – 31st March 2026

Welcome to the March edition of the round up where trail running exploits abound!  Many thanks as ever to all our contributors and a huge congratulations on their achievements!

New Forest Trail 10k – Saturday 7^th March 2026

First up is Claire Moyle with an account of the New Forest Trail 10k:

It was a gloomy day with drizzle and very muddy underfoot, but a very well-organised event with extremely friendly marshals.  This year I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone and tackle some events I wouldn’t normally do, as I generally fall over on trails and hate getting wet and muddy!  This is the first event, so I chose a shorter distance to see how I went.  Luckily, I didn’t fall over and I actually enjoyed it, so I might give some more trail runs a go.

Kingston Break-Fest Run – Sunday 8^th March 2026

Many thanks to Tiff for sending in the following report of her run with fellow Tuffs Glenn Parisi, Clive and Trevor Harvey:

Steyning Stinger Half – Sunday 8^th March 2026

Your editor, Kate Cooper, has the following to say about the Steyning Stinger Half:

After completing a trail 50k in February, the last thing on my mind was doing the Steyning Half, but I had never done it and got a case of FOMO, so when the opportunity to take a club mate’s place came up, I eventually went for it and signed up a couple of days before the race.

The race HQ is Steyning Grammar School and having met up with a running club mate who suggested that we run together, we headed up to the rolling start and set off.  There was low cloud for the entire route and I was very grateful to be with someone who knew the route well when we were up on the Downs and also glad that I was familiar with most of the route, although this meant that I knew exactly how long the climb from Cranks Café up to Chanctonbury was!

Shortly after the descent east from Chanctonbury, the route splits with the half marathon runners heading back to Steyning.  I was very glad to be in this group!  The Downs had dried up well, but the last part of the route back into Steyning was very muddy and my tired post-50k mudfest ankles definitely protested.  Thankfully, the finish line was soon in sight and I was rewarded with a cooked breakfast back at the school!

I would definitely recommend this local run put on by Steyning Athletics Club.  Next year, you might even get the stunning views!

Winters End Ultra – Arundel – Saturday 21^st March 2026

Mark Walford has been up to his mad exploits, this time another ultra!  Thank you to Mark for taking time from his recovery to send in the following report:

For any of you who remember my last 50km ultra write up, you might be surprised to hear I signed up to another ultra, let alone a 50 mile one! 

As much as the 50km broke me, I also saw it as a chance to develop and get better.  I was looking for challenges this year and saw that the South Downs Way runs through Arundel and to Eastbourne.  That excited me, and through my research I found it actually runs from Winchester to Eastbourne and there is a 100-mile run in June. But to do this, I needed to do a 50-mile race in under 12 hours.

 So after a moment of madness, I signed up to both a 50 mile and the 100 miler in the next 5 months!

This left me about 6-8 weeks to train and taper for 50 miles.  Saturday morning runs have been a staple of my training and this definitely held me in good stead for the hills I faced. 

I’ll say from the start, Big Feat events are very good.  Starting in Arundel the 50-mile race went to Winchester along the South Downs.  As well as this, they had two marathon events, either the first or the second half of the 50-mile route. 

The day came and the weather was lovely.  Starting at Whiteways, it was a bit congested for the first 2km, then there was a bit of space to move. 

Nothing too exciting happened during the first 20-30 km, a couple of well-stocked aid stations, a lot of hills and a photo taken with a cow for my daughter.  I love trail running: less focus on speed and more enjoyable, but it is hard to switch off my racing brain and I was mindful it was a long day out. 

35km was when the fun started (maybe fun isn’t the right word): I tripped on a tree root and fell over on my right arm and hand, sending an emergency SOS via Garmin.  I picked myself up, dusted myself off, wiped away dirt and blood, made calls to tell people not to worry about the SOS and started running again. 

I got to the next aid station and was patched up a bit with plasters, loaded myself up with more food and got going again. This is where the second marathon started and I joined just as everyone set off, so I had new company. 

I chatted to a few people and felt OK, but after 55km was struggling with getting fluid down and hit a runner’s wall.  I managed to get back into the groove again, but hit another big wall at 65km, now walking maybe more than running.  I decided to take my time in an aid station, drink plenty, cool down, take food on and walk for 10 minutes.  This did the trick: I was feeling human again and now back to running (walking the hills). 

At about 70km I saw Tom and Dom who were out on a 3-day cycle adventure.  This was an added bonus.  The final 10km felt super long, but with 4km to go we saw signs for Winchester and I was on pavements and flat roads, I managed to jog the entire last 4km and crossed the line very happy with myself.  Drained of energy and fluid, I learnt a lot of lessons, but was happy I was still running.  9 hours 45 – I was happy with that!  Much slower second half, so need to work on pacing but well within my 12 hour cut off.  (I then went to submit my time and I actually could have taken 15!) 

Now to go double that distance in 11 weeks’ time: I don’t know what will happen but will give it a good shot. 

Ridgy Didge 30k – NSW Australia – Saturday 28^th March 2026

Many thanks to Head Coach Hazel Tuppen for taking time out from her trip down under to email in this account of the Ridgy Didge 30k.  Congratulations to Hazel for avoiding snakes and finishing as 9^th female!

They say the best way to beat jet lag is to stay active.  Apparently, I took that advice too literally.   26 hours after touching down in Australia—following a marathon travel stint after changing my flights from the Middle East to the “long way round” via America, I found myself at the Lithgow Pony Club.  Let’s just say that outback dunnies make portable toilets feel luxurious! 

During my transfer in Houston, I learned from an Aussie that Lithgow is affectionately known as the “bum crack of the Blue Mountains.”  While it might not be a typical Aussie tourist destination, the race was conveniently close (in Aussie terms) to where my sister and dad live, making it the perfect (if slightly mad) start to my holiday. 

It was a crisp, chilly Australian autumn morning. In fact, it had apparently snowed just a few kilometres up the road in Orange the day before.  It wasn’t until the very last minute that I swapped my leggings for shorts—a decision I was immensely grateful for once the sun and the climbs kicked in.

Kit check went smoothly, though it included a novel piece of kit for me…….. a snake bandage.  While I spent a good portion of the race keeping a keen eye on the undergrowth, I figured the 50km and 42km runners ahead of me had likely done the hard work of scaring off anything with fangs!

The race started with a punchy climb toward Hassans Walls before plunging us straight back down again.  That set the rhythm for the rest of the run—lung-busting vertical inclines, followed by steep, technical descents.

The trail was predominantly technical singletrack, winding through forest that would occasionally break open to reveal views of the Hartley and Megalong valleys below.  With 1,350m of total ascent, it was pretty spicy; you were either working a steep climb or trying to stay nimble on the rocky downs.

To combat any potential energy or jet lag issues, my main strategy was a fuelling plan of 90g of carbohydrates per hour. Maintaining that intake was tricky while navigating those climbs and quad-smashing descents, but it certainly paid off, as in the final 10km, my energy levels remained stable, allowing me to pick off others who were fading and crossed the line in 4:30:05 and finishing as the 9th Female.

Spring Tide Ultra – Arundel – Sunday 29^th March 2026

Huge thanks to our chairman, Olly Sampson, for sending in the following report of his (and Wardy’s) long-awaited ultra:

The race was based at Arundel Football Club for this year’s UK Ultra Springtide 50km, the field was 210 strong including three Tuffs, Danny Cunnett, Andrew Ward (Wardy) and yours truly.  Wardy and I had deferred from last year after injury, so this was a long time coming.  I was genuinely excited!

The course starts at the foothills of the castle and heads out through Arundel Park onto the river and out to Houghton, Fontwell, Bignor then returning to Amberley across the South Downs to Long Furlong then back into Angmering estate, Wepham and finally back into Arundel.  It is a beast of a course, with hills, hills and more hills!

The field this year was 210 strong and as we trotted out the vibe was super friendly, in fact throughout the race the participants and volunteers were just amazing, so friendly, so helpful.  The course had 4 super stocked aid stations en route and as we went round the course we were just blown away with how amazing the views and scenery were.

I ran with Wardy for the whole course and by the time we got to Amberley at 30km we knew we were in for a challenge, the climbs had become seemingly a constant and at 35km even the downhill hurt. Thankfully I’d put a lot of training in and we managed to waddle round in a respectable 7 hours, Danny managed an amazing 5hrs 43mins, chapeau!

I would super recommend this race to anyone who is into long distance runs like this and super chuffed to have completed it and ticked this box after two years.

parkrun Round Up

Saturday 7^th March 2026

Littlehampton took top spot as usual with 9 Tuffs taking part: Fraser Kidd, Spencer Scott, Kayleigh Hudson, Emma Hinton, Colin Simpson, Richard Budd, Benita Fryer, Susan Douglas and Chris Evans.  Queen Elizabeth parkrun was the 2^nd most popular due to a visit from Clive and Trevor Harvey, Paul Fielder and Glenn Parisi.  Les Pearce and Chris Griffin ran at Worthing.  Well done to Sue Pinky who got a course PB at Downs Link!  Katie Yates-Hill ran a parkrun PB at Arrow Valley parkrun in Worcestershire – congratulations, Katie!  Jon Roobottom ran at Chasewater parkrun in the West Midlands, while Al Evans was on tour at Congleton in Cheshire and A-Z hunters will be jealous of Daniel Barnett’s trip to the Zuiderpark parkrun in the Netherlands! 

Saturday 14^th March 2026

Both Littlehampton and Worthing parkruns had strong showings from Tuffs this week.  At Littlehampton Jon Roobottom, Steve Fryer, Stephen Evans, Spencer Scott, Emma Hinton, Steve Bridgeman, Benita Fryer, Susan Douglas, Chris Evans, Hope Newcomer and Al Evans all ran, with Al also picking up a volunteering credit.  A huge well done to Stephen Evans for his 3^rd PB in a row, taking over 1.5 minutes off his time!  Oliver Thomas, Paul Martin, Jay McCardle, Les Pearce, Ed Lay, Chris Griffin and Elaine Rousseau ran at Worthing.  Congratulations to Chris Griffin for hitting her 50 parkruns milestone!  Tuffs on tour were Stephen Feest at Winchester, Trevor Harvey at Muncaster Castle and Paul Fielder at Havant.

Saturday 21^st March 2026

Another strong week for local parkruns!  Jon Roobottom, Adrian Oliver, Stephen Evans, Spencer Scott, Emma Hinton, Colin Simpson, Chris and Al Evans all took part at Littlehampton.  Fraser and Amy Kidd both ran at Bognor and achieved top 10 finishes for their gender – well worth the trip!  Running at Worthing were Ed Lay, Kate Cooper, Paul Fielder, Pete Littleboy, Daniel Barnett and Kayleigh Hudson.  Dan Lawrence and Sue Pinky were at Downs Link, while Steve and Benita Fryer took one of their regular visits to Killerton in Devon.  Sheila Bailey ran at Uckfield and Trevor Harvey was on tour at Bedford Lakes parkrun in Middlesex.

Saturday 28^th March 2026

Numbers were more modest for the first Saturday of the Easter holidays with 5 Tuffs apiece at Worthing and Littlehampton.  Ed Lay, Paul Fielder, Jay McCardle, Nina Tully and Chris Griffin were at Worthing.  Fraser Kidd, Juliette Reader, Emma Hinton, Andrew Rossiter, and Chris Evans ran at Littlehampton, where Juliette was first lady and Fraser was 3^rd man across the line – well done both of you!  Colin and Sue Simpson were at Downs Link, along with Daniel Barnett.  Katie Young took one of her regular visits to Hereford, running strongly as ever to be 5^th lady home, while Al Evans was on tour at Swaffham parkrun in Norfolk.